And so the war on general computing continues. Were you looking forward to ARM laptops and maybe even desktops now that Windows 8 will also be released for ARM? I personally was, because I'd much rather have a thin, but fast and economical machine than a beastly Intel PC. Sadly, it turns out that all our fears regarding UEFI's Secure Boot feature were justified: Microsoft prohibits OEMs from allowing you to install anything other than Windows 8 on ARM devices (the Software Freedom Law Center has more).

However, as I understand it, the secure boot would still block root kits and whatever even if there is a possibility to turn it off? I mean, of course, if you decide to turn it off you do not have the same protection anymore. But then it is up to the consumer to decide how the device he/she bought is going to be used.

What I'm basically trying to say is that, adding an artificial limitation like this is no good for the consumer.